In Theatre

Overview

The Star Cape, "astrological guide for beginners" is a series of stories that intertwine, and each bears the title of a sign of the Zodiac. The reader can choose to read only his or her own sign, only the signs of those dear to him, or the signs of those that are not. And so adds to the book a little of his own life or the life of those around him.

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Novel based on the story, engaging characters, belonging to different eras and realities, as well as to different signs of the zodiac, which control their destinies.

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Will the reader of this novel be cruel enough to leave a couple at the end of the twentieth century amidst war and bombing in Belgrade, or will he rush to tell Minotay the rest of his dream – the name of his love… Milorad Pavic once again leaves the choice to all those who embark on the constellation of symbols of the Star Cape - astrological guide for amateurs.

The signs of the zodiac and their constellations as chapters lead the reader through Pavic’s particular vision of time in which almost nothing happens in the direction of the objective flow of time. Wartime with no future spends its past as well; just as “all battles are won and lost in the past”. so the heroes of this novel spend their lives and the tragedy of their existence in their own raptures during the 78 days of NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999.

Consistent yet intriguing in his skepticism that final answers are very hard to come by, Pavic turns the signs of the zodiac into a novel which very successfully becomes Serbia’s natal chart at the turn of the century.

Milorad Pavić

The Star Cape, "astrological guide for beginners" is a sequence of 12 linked stories, each of which as title and theme has one of the signs of the zodiac. The reader can choose to read only his or her own sign, only the signs of those dear to him, or the signs of those that are not. And so adds to the book a little of his own life or the life of those around him. Moreover, two chapters of the novel can only be found on the Internet (http://www.khazars.com/ongaudi/index_l.html, and the final two both in the book and on the Internet (http://www.rastko.rs/knjizevnost/pavic/bikivaga/index_c.html. The same Internet address also contains the Slovenian translations of those chapters which correspond to the Slovenian translation of the book. http://www.rastko.rs/knjizevnost/pavic/bikivaga-slo/index.html To unravel the plot the reader needs to drop several passages from the closing chapter. This finally reveals the name of the heroine.

Reviews

Pavic turns into a postmodern Scheherazade in a text that has idea, imagination, wild narrative non sequitur, musical architecture of form and language, charming intelligence, voice, fun, selfness and legible freedom in dismantling chronology, sensibility, a stable point of view, an Aristotelian tale, dialogue, well-rounded characters and a sparkling scene.

Readers reviews

Language as well as the story captivates and charms… This beautiful, melodic and magical story. Pavic writes with his own indescribable style...